Unlimited acquires Direction Group for B2B arm
Unlimited Group has completed its third acquisition in a year, snapping up DirectionGroup in a move that will bolster its newly-formed dedicated B2B arm.
Unlimited adds Direction Group to burgeoning B2B arm
Nick Clark, former managing director of Nelson Bostock (which was recently acquired by Unlimited also) has been promoted to oversee the business in his new role as chief executive, technology and B2B across the whole business. He will help unify the new additions under a single leadership and agency structure.
DirectionGroup is a sixty-person agency, with expertise in brand creative, content, conversion and consulting for clients including Microsoft, Fujitsu and Tata Communications.
It will be renamed DirectionGroup Unlimited to reflect the change in ownership, sitting alongside First Base Unlimited and Nelson Bostock Unlimited as the foundation of a full-service B2B and technology marcomms pillar from Unlimited.
Clark said: “Our B2B offering is already in rude health, growing in revenue, talent and winning awards, so it’s exciting to welcome DirectionGroup to help expand our capabilities further in this high growth area.
"This is our third acquisition this year of a deep specialist agency to complement our existing businesses, which enables us to enhance our client offering whilst supporting the growth of the entire group.”
Unlimited said it has been spurred by increasing client demand for "connected specialists" capable of delivering fully-integrated services. The latest addition to its roster will hand it the capability to join-up client-side marketing, communications and sales with specialist services such as brand development, PR and content marketing.
Unlimited already has several acquisitions under its belt following the formation of a strategic alliance with international agencies Hakuhodo and Serviceplan in January and the subsequent acquisition of data and analytics agency Realise Unlimited, formerly Model Citizens.
The expansion follows the promotion of Sarah Shilling to group chief marketing officer last July.